Stay on target

The top four slots on Carrie Fisher’s IMDB page are, unsurprisingly, the four Star Wars movies she appears in. However, you may notice that she also has 90 acting credits. True story, Carrie Fisher is so much more than Princess Leia, at least as far as her acting career is concerned.

She’s had a career spanning almost 50 years and besides her most iconic role, she’s turned around amazing performances everywhere in both comedic and dramatic roles, maintaining a strength and confidence in each, while projecting the sass she carries around in reality.

For the purposes of this article, I’ve chosen five of her best non-Star Wars roles, but there are so many more places to enjoy Fisher. Like, in just about everything.

Mystery Woman, The Blues Brothers

The Blues Brothers is a strange comedy, following two brothers, Jake and Elwood Blues, as they try to get together a band and play a concert because they received a message from God. It’s ridiculous, but it works thanks to the performances of all the actors involved. Fisher’s role is small in this, to the point where she doesn’t even get a name, but her impact is felt throughout the film. She shows up every few scenes with a gun larger than her and tries to kill Jake and Elwood. She never follows up on her plans. It’s almost like she just wants to destroy property. Her short monologue at the end is some of her only dialogue, but she’s just so over everything, standing with confidence over the man who left her at the altar and casually threatening to kill him. Of course, this changes very quickly, but in the meantime, the mystery woman is mysterious, deadly, and ridiculous.

Carol, The ‘Burbs

She plays the straight man, so to speak, to Tom Hanks’ Ray, who gets caught up in a conspiracy that involves neighbors who may or may not be Satanists. Carol doesn’t have as much to do as the men in the movie, but her constant composure in the face of utter insanity and 1980s humor works. One of Fisher’s strengths as an actor is her ability to pass off unbelievable and outlandish material. She did it in Star Wars and she does it here, keeping calm even as her husband thrashes around an ambulance. She doesn’t have much to do, but in her scenes, she shows a strength and resilience that stands up in the face of… whatever Tom Hanks is doing.

Marie, When Harry Met Sally

The two title characters in When Harry Met Sally are two idiots who spend 12 years trying to figure out that they’re meant to be together. Luckily, Sally at least has a friend who can be a voice of reason. Of course, the problem is that eventually she goes on to have her own life outside the constant back and forth between Harry and Sally. She plays the plucky friend typical in romantic comedies, yet she gets the man before Sally does. She’s always confident in herself and is there for Sally, of course, but she conveys an independence from the story that makes her more memorable than other friend sidekicks. She’s grounded and real. Marie doesn’t have a ton of Fisher’s sarcastic, deadpan quirks, but she feels like a friend you’d have. She most likely feels like you.

Rosemary Howard, 30 Rock

It’s a testament to Fisher’s charisma and comic ability that her appearance on one episode of 30 Rock made her one of the series’ standouts, especially in an eight-season run full of standouts. Rosemary Howard was a 1960s comedy writer that Tina Fey’s Liz Lemon looked up to and invited on to TGS in the episode “Rosemary’s Baby.” Over the course of the episode, Liz realizes how pathetic and unhinged Rosemary has become. We of course get an obvious, but always welcome “Help me Liz Lemon! You’re my only hope,” but Fisher’s performance is memorable for reasons that have little to do with writing. Fisher is self-deprecating and self-aware in her portrayal, especially given her history, slowly becoming wilder over the 20 some odd minutes. Sure it culminates in a Star Wars reference, but by then Fisher has hooked you, so it almost doesn’t matter.

Mia, Catastrophe

It’s telling that most of Carrie Fisher’s roles, especially the ones on this list, are small. She’s never the lead, but she doesn’t have to be. Even into 2016, she’s shining in guest roles, practically nothing more than a cameo. In the Amazon comedy Catastrophe, Fisher plays Rob Delaney’s character’s mother, who attempts to relay some motherly advice horribly. She’s crass, sarcastic, and honest. As she gets older, you can see a lot of Fisher in the roles she plays, whether it’s intentional or not. But we’re okay with this. Fisher’s real-life personality shines through and is almost always entertaining.

In addition, Gary Fisher makes a special appearance in Catastrophe, which is more than what we can hope for when we see Carrie anywhere.